


Not a Drill

by IronWoman359



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: (violence is implied; not shown), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Gun Violence, Guns, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, School Shootings, Shooting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 12:17:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19209271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronWoman359/pseuds/IronWoman359
Summary: There's an active shooter at Virgil's high school, and it's nothing the drills could have prepared him for.





	Not a Drill

**Author's Note:**

> This is more of an exploration of the emotions that a school shooting brings about and not so much about showing the events explicitly, but the emotions are pretty raw and some gunfire is mentioned, so please heed the warnings as needed. This is a visceral subject for me, and I know it is for many of you as well, so stay safe <3

Virgil pressed himself into an even smaller ball in the corner of the school bathroom, doing his best to quiet his sobs. He’d been just about to wash his hands when the intercom sounded, alerting the school that there was an active shooter on the campus. The announcement had cut off abruptly, and no further updates had come through the pa system. 

Virgil didn’t want to think about what that meant. 

All the active shooter drills in the world couldn’t have prepared him for the horrifying reality. True, he’d never made it through one of those drills without having a panic attack either, but when that happened, a student or teacher or  _someone_  was always there to pull him aside, to help him through his breathing exercises and remind him that it wasn’t real, that he was safe. 

Now, he was alone, huddled in a bathroom stall waiting for the killer to find him. And the shooter  _would_  find him, they’d been told over and over again that if this happened they had to  _run_  or  _fight,_  not hide, but Virgil couldn’t help it. He always froze every time they did these drills, and now that was going to get him killed. 

As if confirming his fears, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Virgil clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle the sob that tried to escape him. Oh god, he was going to die, he was going to die before he even turned seventeen…he didn’t even know what he wanted to do with his life yet, and it was going to be taken away before he could even figure it out. 

The footsteps grew louder, then the door to the bathroom opened, and Virgil flinched, squeezing his eyes shut and expecting the worst. But instead of gunfire, there was a tense voice.

“Psst! Is anyone in here?” 

Virgil peeked his eyes open, but didn’t leave the  ~~nonexistent~~  safety of his stall just yet. More footsteps, then a pair of red converse stopped outside his hiding place. A moment later, a face appeared in the gap between the stall door and the floor, and Virgil’s eyes widened. 

“R-roman?” he gasped out. Roman Prince wasn’t Virgil’s friend, exactly, but the two of them had shared a few biology labs together, and while he could be a bit annoying, Roman was, admittedly, an okay guy. 

“Virgil! Are you okay?” 

Virgil nodded, even though really, he was very much  _not_ okay. Roman seemed to understand though, and he reached a hand towards Virgil carefully. 

“C’mon man, we’ve gotta get outta here.“

“I…” Virgil was losing control of his breathing, and Roman smiled, a shaky yet reassuring smile.

“Let’s start by just getting out of the stall. Okay? Can you do that for me, Virgil? Just stand up, that’s it, good.” 

Roman continued to coax Virgil until the two of them were face to face in the bathroom.

“Okay. Now, where’s the closest door to the outside?” Roman asked. Virgil paused a moment, then answered. 

“N-north entrance.” 

“Okay then,” Roman said, taking a deep breath. “That’s where we’re headed then. We’re just gonna run for it, got it?” 

Virgil nodded, not trusting himself to speak. 

“Here.” Roman took Virgil’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I won’t let go of you. Don’t let go of me, okay?” 

“I…I won’t,” Virgil managed, and Roman squeezed his hand again. 

“Okay…on three. One…two…three!” 

The bathroom door burst open and as they ran, Virgil heard gunfire echo in the hallways.

— — — 

Patton was trying to stay positive, but with every passing moment, it grew harder to hold onto hope. Virgil should have been in his english class, his english teacher said he’d been out of the classroom when the alert had gone out, and every time a group of students trickled out of the building, Patton’s heart rose a little bit only for it to plummet back down again upon hearing that Virgil wasn’t among those who’d escaped. 

He found himself standing nearby a group of other parents, watching the school and trying to fight off the growing numbness in his chest. 

“Pardon me,” someone from beside him spoke, their voice fraught with tension. “My name is Logan Prince…you haven’t heard anything about a Roman Prince being safe yet, have you?” 

“I…no, I’m sorry,” Patton managed to say “Have…have you heard from a Virgil Sanders?” 

The stranger, Logan, shook his head, and Patton grimaced. The two of them stood there for what felt like an eternity, each eyeing the school intently. There were no words shared between them, but there was a silent understanding, a solidarity in their plights as around them, escaped students reunited with their families. Patton watched a mother scoop her child into a hug, then all of a sudden he was crying, tears pouring down his face as he sunk to the ground. 

“Sir?” Logan knelt beside him, hands hovering above him, uncertain of what to do. “Sir, what is it? Do you require assistance?” 

“I-I…I just…I’m not ready to lose him,” Patton choked out between sobs. “I…I didn’t get to give him a hug goodbye this morning, we were running late, and now what if I…if I never…” Patton whimpered, and Logan rested a hand on his shoulder hesitantly. 

“I…I understand,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I often do not express my feelings well, and the thought that I will not have the proper chance again to tell my son how…how much I…” 

“We have a visual on two survivors!” 

Patton’s head snapped towards the school, and he let out a strangled cry. From beside him, his companion took a sharp intake of breath, and in an instant the paralyzing fear that had been pressing down on Patton’s chest all morning was pushed aside by a flood of relief…

Because there, running towards him, hand in hand with another boy, was Virgil. 

His baby, alive. 

Patton stumbled forward, and as Virgil got closer to him he let go of his companion’s hand, running straight into Patton’s arms. Patton sank to his knees the moment he caught him, and the two of them hid themselves in each other’s embrace. Patton was distantly aware that they were both sobbing, but he couldn’t bring himself to care in the slightest. 

Beside them, Patton caught a glimpse of Logan and Roman in a similar position, tears on both father and son’s cheeks. He looked back to Virgil, cupping his son’s face in his hands and scanning it desperately. 

“V-virgil,” he choked out, his hands fluttering from Virgil’s face to his shoulders to his hair, unsure of where to land and wanting to check over every inch of his baby to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “Oh my god,  _Virgil,_  I…I thought I’d never get to see you again,” he sobbed.  

Virgil buried his face in Patton’s chest, and Patton rubbed his back as soothingly as he could manage. 

“M-me…me too, Dad,” his son’s voice rumbled against Patton’s chest, and Patton pressed his face into Virgil’s hair. 

“Oh, honey…it’s alright now, Dad’s here…Dad’s got you.” 

“I wanna go home,” Virgil mumbled, and Patton hugged him tighter. 

“Okay, sweetheart. We’ll go right now, okay? Everything’s gonna be fine, I promise.”

Patton pulled them shakily to their feet, and as he began guiding Virgil away, he caught Logan Prince’s gaze one last time. Logan’s arms were wrapped as tightly around his son as they would go, and he gave Patton a small nod and a shaky smile. Patton offered his own tearful smile back. 

None of them were okay right now, but in time, Patton knew they would be. 

“Come on, Virgil,” he murmured again, taking his son’s hand. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
